FIRST HALF:
Orange County SC went north this week to face off against California rival Monterey Bay FC for the third time this season. Unfortunately, the injury list grew larger this week with some key players missing. Yet, this opened the opportunity for newcomer Stephen Kelly to make his first start of the season since joining the club a few weeks ago.
Monterey Bay was able to create the first dangerous chance of the match within the first 5 minutes. Threading a through ball between the backline, which forced Colin Shutler to come outside the box to clear the ball away.
Cameron Dunbar and Ryan Doghman connected on the left side with a one-two pass. Doghman ended up getting fouled just outside the box, allowing Kelly to send in a cross off a set piece. It was a great ball to the far post, and Ethan Zubak jumped for the header, but the attempt was snatched away by the Monterey Bay goalkeeper, Samuel Gomez.
The pressure on the Orange County defense was relentless at the beginning of the half. Multiple times, Monterey Bay was able to cross the ball into the box and cause trouble for Shutler. In one instance, they were able to take a shot from the six, but thankfully, Vuk Latinovich stepped in front of the shot to block it. While Shutler had to make two big saves to keep things level.
Eventually, they were able to open the scoreline off poor defending on the right side from Orange County. After a ball deflected off Partida, Jamison stood and watched the ball in the box as Grant Robinson took it back. He crossed it into the center, where Luke Ivanovic headed the ball into the corner of the net to make it 1-0.
SECOND HALF:
Monterey Bay completely dominated most of the first match, with three shots on target and nine shots overall, in comparison with Orange County's no shots on target and only one shot overall. Danny Stone would need to make some significant changes during halftime if the boys in orange and black have any hope of turning things around in the second half.
One of those changes was a halftime substitution, bringing on Chris Hegardt in place of Jamison, whom Dunbar had given a perfect opportunity in the 49th minute. Dunbar did what he does best, dribbled through multiple players to get inside the box, and made a ground cross across the six where Hegardt only had to tap it in for a goal, but he was barely unable to connect with it.
But, just one minute later, the moment was found. A fantastic passing sequence in the midfield started by Kelly opened a run for Benalcazar to receive a ball and go one-on-one with a keeper. He took a low shot to the far corner to tie the match.
Unfortunately, Monterey responded immediately when Diego Gutierrez was subbed on. His first touch on the ball, he cut in the middle and sent a perfect ball toward the far post, and Anton Sojberg was able to flick in a goal. Monterey took back the lead 2-1.
Ousmane Sylla almost had two brilliant breakaways if it wasn’t for a couple of Monterey Bay players who seemed eager to remove his shirt, dragging him to the ground twice.
Things went from bad to worse in the 69th minute. Kelly attempted to hold back a player from reaching the ball, but he extended his arm and struck the opponent's head with his elbow. The referee decided this accidental connection was enough to earn a straight red card. Orange County SC was now down a goal and a man.
OCSC did not give up the fight, though, and continued to push into the box multiple times. Mohamadou War was subbed on and had a great run into the box, passing to Zubak, who took a shot that looked toward the top bins, but the attempt was barely too high. Cheick Kone and Latinovich each had great header attempts, but Gomez was there to make the saves. The County Boys fought until the last seconds but were unable to find a second equalizer and lost 2-1.
OVERVIEW:
For the third time this season, Orange County SC lost to Monterey Bay FC. Once again, OCSC started the match incredibly slowly and allowed themselves to be dominated in the first half.
However, they began to heat up in the second half, making numerous smart runs and passing incredibly well. That passing led to a beautiful goal by Nico Benalcazar, who was one of the few players who had a fantastic game all around. Unfortunately, the opponents were able to score more due to some poor defending that was reminiscent of the beginning of the season. The red card in the 69th minute was the nail in the coffin of the evening, though.
It was a tough loss on the road, one that felt very winnable going into the match, as Orange County was starting to turn things around with their results. This week was an apparent setback, and they will need to figure out how to stay consistent as the halfway point of the season approaches. Luckily, the next two league matches will be at home, starting with Las Vegas Lights next Saturday, July 19, at 7:00 PM PST.
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